Dolphins-Chargers Analysis

Stopping LT and HITTING:

It became clear very early on that in order to beat the Chargers the Dolphins were going to have to stop LT, a difficult task considering how skilled he is and the number of other playmakers on the Charger offense. Keying Tomlinson and tackling him were crucial, because it was clear that San Diego would hand him and throw him the ball all day if given the opportunity. The Dolphins stepped up to the challenge.

After early struggles keeping the Chargers off the field, success came when the Dolphins took the lead, which stunned San Diego a bit. At that moment, Rivers seemed a little bit shook, and it was clear that #21 was who they had to rely upon. The Dolphins really stepped up and started hitting. In fact, by the second half it was clear that Tomlinson was hurting. He seemed to want out of the game from being so battered by the Miami defense.

To make matters worse (or better), LT wasn't the only one who was feeling the effects of some especially brutal hitting. Chris Chambers also took a painful hit, this one delivered by Renaldo Hill and Channing Crowder, two of the roughhousing leaders all day long.

In football, you never wish injury on any opponent, but you do wish to beat the hell out of and hurt all of them. The Dolphins defense this year physically abuses teams until they say uncle, and it was key in shutting down LT and the Charger offense.
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Keeping the defense off balance:

Dan Henning and Chad Pennington had another masterful game, using all the weapons of the Dolphin offense really well. Early on, it was fun to watch the Dolphins move the football. They were hitting Ginn, mixing in the Wildcat, going to Fasano...the ball was all over the field.

As for the Wildcat, it creates a really nice element when you can go back and forth to and from it whenever you want. I worry that overusing it can disrupt rhythm a bit, but as a bit of a football purist, I love lining up in a formation and telling the defense, "We are going to out-beef you. Try and stop it." The fact of the matter is that most teams can't, so they commit safeties to help. Now comes the pass. It's like high school all over again.

The other thing about the Wildcat is that it is great in the red zone. Any time you've got a short field, the running game (and more importantly threat) becomes paramount to success. As I said above, the Wildcat gives you a little bit of extra beef, which is exactly what you need in those situations, and with defenses being forced to attack with their backs against the wall, creases start to develop. You saw that happen, even with the broken play, on Ronnie's touchdown.

Mix that in with the rest of the offense, and you really can't understate the job that Henning is doing. From getting the ball to our playmakers in space to little wrinkles with the hurry up here and there, this offense is definitely fun to watch again. Even on a call that didn't work out, when the Dolphins took their shot deep as they moved into field goal range up 17-3, you've got to love the reasoning. You're in range to make it a three score game, and you have your opportunity to put the other team away, so it's the perfect time to go for it. It wasn't there - fine - but what's important is that the right type of thinking and the process was there. The field goal was missed, but that's a different story...
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Facing adversity and stepping up:

As I was saying, the Dolphins missed the field goal to go up by three scores and effectively put the game away, but then things got worse. Goodman got beat on a long pass play, and soon after Chambers beat Will Allen for a score. Suddenly, after a missed field goal and a San Diego TD, the Dolphins found themselves in a game.

To make matters worse, Bess fumbled on the kickoff and with the Chargers quickly getting to 1st and Goal, it looked like they would tie it up. Another typical Miami meltdown, just like last year.

But then something happened.

The Dolphins decided they were not going down that easily.

We stopped them stone cold on 1st and 2nd down, and on 3rd down Chambers may have made the catch, but he certainly regretted it. Hill and Crowder, as I said before, hit him so hard that they hurt him and forced him to leave the field. Then on 4th down, one of the best goal line running backs in history was not even close to reaching the end zone when Crowder and company hit him again. The Dolphins simply didn't allow the Chargers to take the game from them, and their statement was emphatic.

They say every organization takes the personality of its leader. Guess what? This team is tough.
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The return game:

On a very separate note, the Dolphins need to take a look at their special teams. The coverage teams were a bit better today, but it is hard to believe that Bess is still the one returning kicks.

Ted got one chance to return a punt, and I'll be honest: it wasn't pretty. However, you cannot downplay the speed that he has and the fact that he has proven his explosiveness. I think of it like this: if you were the coach of another team, who would you prefer to see back there? The answer is clearly Bess, which is exactly why he shouldn't be in there. He hasn't done anything at all yet this year, especially with kickoffs, and more importantly he doesn't really scare anybody.

Add the fact that Bess fumbled a kick return at a crucial point in the game, and it would be very surprising (and dumb) if Ginn were not returning at least kickoffs next week. I understand the "Bess makes the first guy miss" argument on punts, so I can deal with a little bit of stubbornness in keeping him back there for a few more weeks, but I cannot deal with Ginn not being on the field for kickoffs.
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Coaching decisions:

In a game where the Dolphins were faced with some interesting coaching decisions, let's examine the logic.

On the drive that ended in Camarillo's magnificent touchdown catch, the Dolphins were faced with a 4th and 1 and decided to go for it. I thought it made a lot of sense and was a good decision. The Dolphins were moving the ball well, so they were rightfully confident in their ability to make a yard, and they were close enough in on the field to scoring that it made sense. From a little bit further out, even if you get the first down you might end up kicking the field goal anyway, but this was a decision made because Sparano sensed the end zone. He was playing for the win and firing up the crowd, and it worked, so it would be hard to argue that this wasn't the correct call.

Later in the 2nd quarter, the Chargers completed a 3rd down pass short of the 1st down marker, so they had to punt. However, the pass covered about 15 yards, and replays showed that it clearly should have been ruled incomplete. Is it worth using the challenge, which will no doubt be correct, to gain back the 15 yards of field position? It was a tough call, and the Dolphins elected to keep their challenge, but using it might have been wise, as the Dolphins didn't end up using even one for the rest of the day anyway.

On the drive after the goal line stand, the Dolphins made it to the Charger 40 and had 4th and 1 up by a touchdown. They elected to punt and pin the Chargers deep, but I might have gone for it in that situation. How scared would the Chargers have been to see a Wildcat formation there, and a field goal would have put the game away. However, credit the Dolphins because their call worked as they won the game. Offering a momentum switch right there might have been ill-advised.

That is all. Post a comment and let me know what you though of these decisions...